Day 23 & 24

No bites, no bug sightings

Day 23 : I kind of wasted a weekend day by being out of the house for most of it. Still, I manage to get laundry done (half bagged half put into storage), a bag of treated clothes donated, and one heat treatment done.

Day 24: I am not sure when the PCO is coming back to inspect, he said it would be this week. I have seen no signs of anything in the sticky traps he left. I have not heard anyone speak highly of them as a detection device.

I heat treat one of the couch cushions. the outer mnaterial zippers off, but I had to cut the inner layer lining to get the heat probe way into the center of the cushion to make sure that the heat was high enough, even at the core. I bagged it afterwards.

Hopefully I can treat the other 3 cushions this week. Get the couch vacuumed down in the meantime, and then flip it over to do a more thorough inspection.

Rugs remain my big issue. I guess I should just borrow the steam cleaner that I have access to. I may heat water to 150 degress and only do little sections at a time in order to feel it is effective. That will take hours, of course, but I can be methodical about it. Highest probablity of bugs are the areas under my bed and then the carpet edges - do those areas first.

I may look at the hardware store roll rolls of heavy duty plastic, maybe drop clothes would work, and may just roll up and seal 3-4 of the smaller rugs.

Day 22 - Plodding along

I am not allowing my son on the couch. I am going to vacuum the DE up after a couple of days, in the mean time, he can sit on the recliner.

DISCLAIMER: DE is NOT supposed to be used on upholstered furniture. It is also not to be used on mattresses.

So there's that and I have some regrets of having done it, but I also want the bugs gone, so I will leave it for a few days, then I will vacuum it thoroughly (and I will wear the respirator while doing it) a few times. I may even come through the room with a water mist sprayer after to settle any dust. It wasn't much that I used, but these bugs are not worth getting either of us sick for or doing any, even a little, lung damage.

I told some more friends. ugh.

I still need to give out the info to the rest of the neighbors. I think I am just putting it under their doors with a note, I can't deal with talking to that many people over and over. EDIT: and it is done.

Happiness is PackTiting Ziploc bags. I hope this means that I will not have to buy any more.

I am trying to do 2-3 loads of things in the PackTite each weekend day. I do not want to over use it, but I also really really want to treat some more things and get them into storage.

I got 2 of the 21 gallon bins taped up air tight and into the storage room. These are things that I could go without for 18 months, but they could also be PackTited if I feel the house is clear before then. They had been stacked in part of the living room, so it is nice to have some of that space back.

I need to treat some of the things in bags in my room so I can move them to storage also, although realistically only 2-3 more bins can fit in there. My room is just barely navigable at point. either bags go into closets and get removed for treatment only, or some get moved to on top of the desk in there. Something has to give.

In my late night worktime, post son going to sleep, I brushed DE into the seams of the drawers under his bed. wiped up all excess. I found no evidence of bugs down there still, but that bed remains my biggest fear.

Day 21 - One day post-PCO treatment

Decide that if I can finally get the respirator, I could DE some of the areas the PCO didn't do and have it basically on the same schedule as his treatment. I manage to get one.

I also do some online research about how I might treat my area rugs. no decision yet.

PackTite somethings I need for tomorrow. do a visual on all the ClimbUps and over the couch again, nothing. Then decide to do the couch again after putting my son to bed, he'd been sitting there for over an hour, so maybe some would be out. UGH! yes, find one adult. Well hell. So out comes the DE and the brand new respirator. I do to work getting a dusting down along the wooden frame, on seams, on the sofa-bed (already encased) netting. I got the adult one I saw with alcohol already. I also find a molting while dusting. I do not see any others and no black specks.

Now thoroughly unhinged, I go to pull off a large mirror on the wall and check it. I manage to pull out one of the wall bolts holding it up AND pull out the hanging mechanism on one side. So while there is no sign of bed bugs on it, I can;t hang it back up now.

I DE dust the entrance to my son's room. The edges of some of the area rugs, the entry and one hall closet. I am wearing the respirator with P-100 cartridges and I am using a paint brush to get a light film. I do not see how anyone could get a light film just from the DE bottle.

spent:

respirator with P-100 cartridges - $41.15

Day 19 - 20

Still no sightings and no bites.

I get the box spring encasement on and am in a mad dash to get things ready for the PCO.

I really just have too much stuff, but I'm not in the mindspace to just dump things. I will bag for now and will start getting rid after treatment.

Lots in my closets. I do clear out a lot from a hall closet and get it in the trash. I also get some stuff cleared out from my son's room, but in the scheme of things what I am tossing is drops in the bucket.

The exterminator comes and of course there are things I neglected to do. Things I did not bag and pictures on the wall, but we take care of it all.

The cats are being boarded for 2 days (no idea how much that will be, I didn't even ask).

I am not thrilled with the treatment, I must say. I feel ok about the chemicals, but he is only treating baseboards with the spray. why not up in the closet? Also, only treating the bedrooms and one wall of the living room (I had not pulled things away from the other walls) - I had wanted the entry and hall closets also.

He says I have to steam treat my area rugs. great. had not thought about those. no idea how to deal with that, as I have only had them cleaned before by services that take them out and return them. will I spread anything in them if I do that?, also could get re-infested in a delivery truck or treatment place. no thank you. will look into rental or buying a steamer.

hate.

spent:

ziploc bags - $37.60

Day 18

After much ordeal, I get the PackTite, but no treating of anything, it is too late.

Spent today:

PackTite - $326.63

Day 17

Still no new bites and no sightings. I even do a cushion check on the couch after the lights are off and check my sons bed twice that evening. He had two small red spots on one leg - it could be anything, but I will be checking his bed nightly. It's a captains bed and I have heard horror stories. It is pressed wood though and slick on the outside. I will be pulling the bed out from the wall asap though. I have told my son that if bugs are in the wood of the bed that he will get a metal bunkbed, so he is onboard.

I bag up a good chunk of the hanging clothes that cannot be washed and I pull the final items from my dresser and get them to the plastic hamper bag for washing this week. I think 1-2 more bags should empty the closets of clothes and then I should be able to just dump misc into a bin.

I also get ClimbUps under my dresser legs and on two legs of each of my side tables. I realize that having them on only half the legs is pretty ineffective, but figure it is better than nothing and may show if they are on either table. I have yet to find a bug in any of the ClimbUps.

I've left a message with the Pest Control people with instructions to call me back. Aim is for treatment mid week (day 19 or 20).

Clothes I had gotten into the dryer on the evening of day 16, I pack directly into an XL Ziploc and take to the storage room.

I am struggling with how to store the dry clean items once I get the PakTite and can treat them. I don't think shoving a suit or nice dress into a gallon sized sip lock will work. There are 2 gallon sizes that might have to just work as trying to work up any sort of sealed hanging situation seems ridiculous and costly.

Day 12-16 Bogged Down

I didn't have any helpers this week and a few other things conspired to make it difficult, so, not much done. Stayed on top of laundry, and did some vacuuming, but not a lot else.

It was day 14 before I finally got the prep list from the Pest Control people. It is much less extensive than the previous list I had from another exterminator. I am going to continue with what I am doing and call them on Monday to clarify some things and ask again the names of their chemicals so I can have them written down.

I started posting a few questions on the forums at bedbugger.com and got some info that way, like how best to fill up the cracks in my floors and the big gaps at the baseboards.

Saw a live bug on day 15, just inside the house, crawling up the outside of a laundry bag that was fresh out of the dryer. So, either picked up in the elevator when I set it down or in my entry way. The entry way got a thorough vacuuming and is getting sprayed down with alcohol daily.

Other than that, no sighting and there have been no bites. And I am still looking once the room is darkened at night. Inspecting the creases at the seams in the couch cushions and edges in the bed.

Day 14 I pick-up the AllerZips for my bed and another set for pillows. All the pillows on the beds are now encased in them and I put one on the pet bed.

It takes me until Day 16, today, to get the mattress one on, and I have still not managed to get the one on the box spring. I was just too beat. I still need to order online a twin one and some king pillowcases. My local retail seller does not keep those, so I might as well order myself.

I took several things to the storage room, a sealed up 21 gallon plastic bin with photos and pictures. A space bag with more linens and newly found stuffed animals. Another space bag with more linens. Some toys that got sprayed down and had already been in plastic. and another plastic bin with papers and misc from my room.

I have never heard anything from the homeowners' assoc people and nothing has been posted or communicated to my neighbors as far as I know, so I sent out an email to the assoc leadership. Bottom line, someone needs to inform the people closest to me. If I am the only one who gets inspected or gets treatment, this is not going to go away. And what about common areas. I fear the assoc people are not well-informed and may not be the most tech-savvy.

There is still a lot of stuff just setting around in my house. It is a little daunting. Clothing I feel is handled and more than 50% of the things in my bedroom are dealt with, but that last 50% is just stuff I do not know what to do with. I guess if all else fails, I'll get plastic bins and just dump the random stuff in them.

The PakTite was supposed to be in on Friday, but delivery was late. The place now has my number and will call me when it is in. They are hoping for a delivery on Tuesday.

Spent:

Zipper bags - $6.60

Laundry refill - $20.00

Day 11 - Prep continues

No bites today.

While I have accepted that it is hard to get much done IN the house on the weekdays, I am determined to get something done everyday.

Today I manage some purchases:

DE
more 91% alcohol (I've found cost of this varies wildly, cheapest I have found is at a chain drug store - $2.99 for a large bottle. I have seen it as much as $4.00+ for a small bottle at a local drug store)
2 Protect-a-Bed AllerZip (tm) pillow covers

I also ordered the AllerZip covers for my mattress and box spring and found a place that will PakTites in by the end of the week.

The AllerZip encasements are reportedly tested to be the best at keeping bug in that are in, out that are out and being bite resistant. They will replace the cheap plastic only (easily torn or poked by cat claws) ones that I initially bought.

Still no prep list from the exterminators. I will give it one more day, if nothing is here when I come home on Wednesday I start calling people.

Also, no word from my homeowner association and no postings. This worries me a great deal and I think I am going to have to spread the word myself. I guess I will start to mentally prepare for the ostricizing.

I do get some cleaning done. Two suitcases that were stored near my bed adn used for storing out of season/rarely worn clothing got emptied, the clothing all bagged up, and the suitcases sprayed down and inspected for bugs or signs of bugs. No bugs found and no signs. Still I will heat treat these and/or dust them with DE once I get the right equipment.

That brings me to DE. I know people who use DE for bugs other than budbugs. Personally, I had never heard of it before this spring. With all the reading I have done now for bedbugs, I have seen a lot of professionals warning about applying DE (even food grade - they absolutely say DO NOT use anything but food grade - thanks tjc) without the proper equipment. It can cause lung problems and is easily disturbed to where one could breathe it in order to cause them. I am not much for taking chances now that a child is around, so I will only be applying the DE when he is in another room or out of the house and I will get a full-on respirator with 100 rated filters. Again, there is a full DE FAQ at bedbugger.com and it gives info on all this.

Spent today:

$261.16 - all the AllerZip covers (even the ones I won't get until later in the week)

$10.88 - DE

$5.98 - Alcohol

Day 10 - Enter The Professionals

The Pest Control folk came by to inspect. I showed them my samples and that was all they needed to see. They will get me their prep list (good thing I was already starting on one for another exterminator) and when I have completed all their requirements, they will come in and do treatment #1.

I asked all my questions and received satisfactory answers (look at bedbugger.com in their FAQs for questions to ask) - they do a combination of treatments, dust and spray. They do not use steam, but that leaves something I can seek out on my own if their work does not produce results. He did not try to sell me on any products, so I will need to go ahead and invest in the more expensive and tested impenetrable encasements now, at least for my bed. My goal is to get through all the requirments on the prep list this week.

While waiting for the inspection, I get another load of laundry in and another dryer only load in (pillows). The pillows get bagged immediately out of the dryer and went straight to the storage room.

I hope to get 1-2 large tubs packed up tonight of unwashable items and do more vacuuming, focusing specifically on baseboards. I need to find my nozzle attachment.

update - well, I did not get the tubs packed up. I did get the laundry bagged, and I found the nozzle for the vacuum. I also got some small scattered misc items up off my floor and into a small tub, and got the ClimbUps on the legs of more furniture. I also did research on how best to fill the big (1/4" or more) gaps and cracks in my old and never re-fishinshed wooden floors. This would probably be a great time to get them re-done, except for the whole, already living in a chaotic mess/spending money like crazy thing. I sought out some advice on the bedbugger.com forums and think I will buy supplies this weekend.

Day 9 - More weekend, more busy

More bites this morning - I hadn't noticed any for a couple of days. These are all on my arm and it is an arm that I had wrapped around a pillow. I had not tried treating the pillows at all. I've read that it is hard to get the core temp high enough to kill them just using a clothes dryer. Well, I may not kill them all, but I may kill some, so I am putting my two pillows in the dryer for over an hour and then I think I will bag one up and store it and bag the other before putting the zipper case and regular case on it. I do not have encasement bed bug specific cases for the pillow because I wanted the opinion of an exterminator first, also wanted to wait until I treated the pillows with the PakTite. I am not sure if I will be able to sleep on a pillow with the krinkle krinkle of plastic, but I'll try.

Aside from the pillows, I did another load of clothes. I knew I had a lot of clothes, but having to wash everything and then bag it up just makes it seem ridiculous. I absolutely need to pare down what I am keeping out to wear.

I took 3 space bags full of things that had been just hanging out in the kitchen to the storage room. The cats got to some of the space bags. I taped up the tears, but I am not convinced they will stay air tight (a bit of a problem with space bags anyway). Now how to know if the plain ole Ziploc bags are airtight. Easy enough to tell with the small once for outfits, squeeze them. But what about the XXL storage ones? hmm, something to think about. I can't be buying bins for everything. Took down one of the big Ziploc bags also.

I get the majority of my files into the plastic storage file boxes, but they aren't taped up yet. Cleared out a good chunk of papers also.

Vacuumed the 2 living spaces, gave the couch and 2 chairs the once over also. Bagged and trashed the vacuum bag (this is going to get expensive).

Exterminator comes tomorrow for inspection, so I am reading up on bedbugger.com all the things I should ask about. Then I go looking for some info in the forums and make the mistake of just reading some. UGH! People on month 6 of infestation. People who see bugs on the walls IN THE DAY! People who are getting bit every night, but never find a bug even when a PCO comes to inspect!! I have found 8 bugs thus far. 5 the first day while looking pre-dawn, BUT STILL!

Oh my god I am so squicked out I bag up a bunch more stuff to be washed tomorrow. Spray down all shoes and bags to leave the house tomorrow, bag up the bags. Spray down a whole set of toys. I do not think there are any live bugs on them, but just in case there are some nymphs. Cannot wait to get the PakTite to treat these things. I am actually attempting to treat a couple of backpacks in a 170 degree oven right now.

Spent today:

Ziplocs big and small - $34.20

91% Rubbing Alcohol - $2.99

Laundry reload - $20.00

Day 8 - weekend again, time to get busy

Today, I have a plan. Shelves for the storage space so that it will hold more, and a bunch of plastic tubs/bins. I have a car (don't normally) a map for the run and hopefully enough time to do it between drop-offs and pick-ups.

Success! all items purchased, shelves assembled (in just about an hour - working solo) and the storage space now has room to accommodate several large space bags and a stack of plastic bins.

I immediately take down the small bins of photos that I had already packed and sealed and had kept in the kitchen.

The rest of the day is laundry: linens on both beds (to be done minimum of once a week now until no signs of bugs), all the clothes we have worn the last week. I don't know about the rest of the world, but I do not wash clothes after 1 wearing unless: I spilled something on it, it got obviously dirty some other way, I sweat enough to know I was sweating (I wash anything I workout in), it smells at all. Washing after 1 wear really fills up the ol' hamper.

All the plastic bags are starting to get to me. I know I can treat them once I get the PakTite, so I am just holding onto them now, it is ridiculous. I will not reuse them until they are treated, that I am clear on.

Speaking of the PakTite, I got a message that they are back in stock with the online store, but I think I am going to check if I can get one locally this week. I'd have it sooner and save shipping costs. The place that may have them will also have DE, so double reason to get in contact with them.

Today I spent:

shelves and bins - $149.53

Day 7

I am going to start losing track of days soon.

2 loads of laundry and a dry only load.

bed and couch moved away from the walls, couch cover lifted up of floor and secured.

Legs of the bed, couch, and recliner were placed into ClimbUp receptors: http://bedbugproducts.blogspot.com/2009/06/bed-bug-climb-up-interceptor.html

I am not recommending any product on this site yet, just telling what I am using. I will post any reactions, successes, and failures.

Mattress of sofa hide-a-bed put into a plastic cover and another search for bugs, defecation marks, eggs, or anything else. NOTHING FOUND. Whoot!